Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Israel: Palestinians

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel regarding reported incidents of the knee-capping of Palestinians protesters.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​We are not aware of the specific incidents referred to. The Foreign Secretary, the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa and I have all raised the use of excessive force with Israeli authorities.

Israel: Gaza

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel about the Israeli military's use of drones which drop firebombs within the borders of Gaza.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We are not aware of these specific incidents and have not raised them with the Israeli authorities. We continue to raise our concerns over the situation in Gaza with the Israeli authorities.

Israel: West Bank

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Israel following the new Israeli military order taking effect which negates the existing planning and building system in the West Bank and abolishes the right to appeal against planned demolitions or to obtain a permit retroactively.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv raised this issue with the Israeli authorities on 22 May. We are concerned that the military order would severely limit the opportunity to appeal before demolitions are carried out.

Israel: Palestinians

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations, if any, they have received in the past 12 months about the disproportionate use of force by the Israeli Defence Force in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; and what assessment they have made of the casefor referring the government of Israel to the International Criminal Court.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has received a number of parliamentary questions from members of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, letters from Members of Parliament on behalf of their constituents, and letters and emails from members of the public on the issue of the alleged disproportionate use of force by the Israeli Defence Forces.The International Criminal Court Prosecutor has been conducting a Preliminary Examination into the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 2015 and on 8 April released a statement saying that, “any new alleged crime committed in the context of the situation in Palestine may be subjected to my Office’s scrutiny”. The Government respects the Prosecutor’s independence in this matter.

Cameroon: Armed Conflict

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent events in the Cameroon, and of how many civilians have been killed in Belo; and what representations they have made to the government of Cameroon regarding such events.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We are aware of reports of clashes between armed groups and the Cameroonian security forces in Belo in April 2018. The UK is deeply concerned by reports of deaths in these clashes, however it is hard to establish the exact number of casualties. We call on the Government of Cameroon take all necessary steps to avoid civilian casualties and to enter into a meaningful dialogue with the Anglophone community to address root causes. During her visit in February to Cameroon the Minister for Africa (Mrs Baldwin) met with the Prime Minister and the Ministers of External Relations, Territorial Administration, and Defence where they discussed the ongoing tensions in Cameroon's Anglophone regions. The Foreign Secretary met the Cameroonian Prime Minister during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting and pressed for urgent action to resolve the dispute and associated violence.

Turkey: British Nationals Abroad

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 14 June (HL8302), of the 41 British nationals detained in Turkey, what is (1) the longest, (2) the shortest, and (3) the average length of, sentence being served.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: As of May 2018, 41 British nationals are detained in Turkey. We are providing consular assistance as necessary. However we do not hold specific data on the longest, shortest and average length of each sentence being served. The data we hold does not provide a breakdown of sentencing information for individual cases.

Cameroon: Politics and Government

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they last called in the High Commissionerfor the Cameroon to discuss the crisis in English speaking Cameroon.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Cameroonian Chargé d'Affaires last visited the Foreign and Commonwealth Office accompanying a delegation of senior Cameroonian Government officials, on 3 May 2018. The Chargé d'Affaires and the delegation met the Minister for Africa and discussed the ongoing crisis in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon, and a range of wider bilateral issues. We continue to make our concerns on the situation in the Anglophone regions known to the Cameroonian authorities.

Department of Health and Social Care

Out-patients: Attendance

lord dobbs: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord O'Shaughnessy on 19 March (HL6008), why the information surrounding the cost of missed appointments at hospital out-patient services is not collected centrally.

lord o'shaughnessy: There is no national performance standard for missed appointments and, as stated in my answer of 19 March, the information is not collected centrally. However, this is an issue which the Minister of State for Health (Stephen Barclay) has asked Departmental officials to consider.Costs associated with hospital appointments are determined by a range of locally determined factors including appointment duration, the workforce requirement and the clinical complexity of each appointment. This ensures out-patient services meet the needs of patients and these will differ across the country.National Health Service staff are able to use time resulting from missed appointments productively, however. This may include undertaking a variety of additional tasks including support to other patients, or spending time on personal development and training.

Food: Safety

the countess of mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken, if any, to ensure that the 14 District Councils and two London boroughs that did not carry out any food safety sampling during 2016–17 now have a sampling programme in place.

lord o'shaughnessy: Food Standards Agency officials contacted all 14 district councils that reported no food safety sampling in 2016/17 to investigate why no sampling had been carried out. As a result, nine of the 14 councils carried out sampling in 2017/18. Further follow up work will be carried out with the remaining five councils. Analysis of the 2016-17 local authority monitoring data indicates that all of the London boroughs reported sampling for food safety.

Food: Safety

the countess of mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many competent authorities with responsibilities for food standards did not have a sampling programme in place for 2016–17; and how many local authority Chief Executives the Food Standards Agency has written to since January 2018 regarding lack of compliance with legal obligations regarding the delivery of the official controls in relation to (1) food standards, and (2) food safety.

lord o'shaughnessy: Data submitted to the Food Standards Agency for local authority activity in 2016-17 indicates that there were 13 authorities responsible for food standards that reported no sampling activity for food standards. However, all 13 of these were unitary authorities, with responsibility for safety and standards, and reported sampling activity in relation to food safety. The Food Standards Agency has written to 14 local authorities, either to the Chief Executive or the Head of Service, since January 2018 in relation to concerns about compliance with legal obligations. Of these, one was in relation to food standards, eight were in relation to food safety and five related to both food safety and food standards.

Food: Safety

the countess of mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the review of the official control laboratories agreed at the Food Standards Agency board meeting on 6 December 2017 will address the anomalous funding position of the Public Analyst laboratories when compared with other laboratories with roles in official controls.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Food Standards Agency’s Board proposed in December 2017 that investigating official laboratories in a systematic review was an important priority. The first phase of the review will address the availability of services to Government departments to ensure official controls can be carried out effectively. A report of this review is expected by March 2019.

Food: Safety

the countess of mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken following the recommendation of the Elliott Review into the integrity and assurance of food supply networks that they should “work in partnership with Public Health England and local authorities with their own laboratories to consider appropriate options for an integrated shared scientific service around food standards”; and whether there has been any public scrutiny of this project as was requested in that Review.

lord o'shaughnessy: In response to the recommendations of the Elliott Review, the following actions that have been undertaken to address the integrity and assurance of the food supply networks include: - Creation of a United Kingdom Virtual Food Authenticity Network to bring together centres of scientific expertise on food standards; and - Supporting sharing analytical best practice on food standards across laboratories via a new coordinated knowledge transfer programme to upskill laboratories in the application of analytical methods and support food law enforcement; and supporting the Mastership in Chemical Analysis (MChemA). The Government response to the Elliott review of the integrity and assurance of food supply networks was published in September 2014. A copy is attached. This document provides the details of the Government’s actions and commitments to address the recommendations of the Elliott Review and was open to the public for further enquiries and comments. 



Government response to the Elliott review
(PDF Document, 57.51 KB)

Mental Health Services

baroness uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they assess the providers of mental health contracts commissioned by NHS England; and what criteria they use to evaluate the standard of services provided.

lord o'shaughnessy: All providers of National Health Service funded care (NHS and independent sector providers) for specialised mental health services are contracted using the same standard NHS national contract. These contracts set out the standard terms of business relating to the provider and commissioner relationship.The monitoring of performance is undertaken by NHS England centrally and through the contracting hubs. Performance management includes:- Performance against operational standards within the NHS Contract;- Reporting against Key Performance Indicators undertaken quarterly and reviewed as part of contract management meetings between commissioner and provider;- Regular performance review meetings with the provider;- Measurement against local quality standards developed by individual hubs;- Measurement of service specification compliance;- NHS England Hub ward visits;- The patient satisfaction survey and implementation of service improvements informed by patient feedback; and- Triangulation with Care Quality Commission inspections.The Quality Assurance and Improvement Framework sets out the quality assurance and improvement activity undertaken in relation to all specialised commissioned services.The outcome of the annual assessment has two features:- Identification of levels of surveillance for the following year; and- Assessment of compliance and non-compliance and if non-compliant, whether provider action or commissioner action is required.A framework has been introduced which requires those reviewing and assessing the information on quality, to categorise services into one of three categories to determine levels of surveillance for the following year:- Routine surveillance – services that have been scored at 100% with no risks identified and those services that have not scored 100% but regional teams have determined that the issue is not material; - Enhanced surveillance – services in this category will require further discussions between provider organisations and relevant commissioning teams to determine whether formal provider action or commissioner action is required, or whether after further discussion the service is deemed to be compliant; and - Peer review visit – services considered for peer review should be discussed with the provider and commissioner to confirm that the factors leading to this proposed option are relevant and proportionate for the action. Based on the level of risk agreed at hub or regional meetings, the service may also be subject to a provider or commissioner action.

Public Health and Social Services: Finance

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government what increases, in constant prices and on present funding plans, will be provided for (1) Public Health England, (2) local authority public health services, and (3) adult social care services, over each of the next five years; and what are the planned annual percentage increases for each of those service areas over that period.

lord o'shaughnessy: The available figures are provided in the following table.  2019-20 budget2020-21 budgetPublic Health England: operating expenditure £ million237237Increase (£)-£0Increase (%)-0%  2019-20 planned2020-21 plannedPublic health funding for local authorities £ billion3.133.13Increase (£)-£0Increase (%)-0% Budgets for both Public Health England and local authorities beyond these years will be agreed as part of the next Spending Review settlement. Spending decisions on social care, including annual increases, are a matter for local government which know their local areas best. Overall, the Government has given access to £9.4 billion additional funding for social care between 2017-18 and 2019-20. Funding allocations for local government beyond 2019-20 are subject to the Spending Review.

NHS: Finance

lord bassam of brighton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much additional funding they estimate the NHS will receive in each financial year from 2018 to 2025; and what percentage of that funding will be raised from (1) increased taxation, (2) anticipated savings, and (3) the Brexit dividend.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Prime Minister has announced a five-year funding agreement which will see the National Health Service budget grow by over £20 billion, in real terms, by 2023-24. The planned resource budgets for NHS England, and what these amount to as additional funding in real terms, are included in the attached table due to the size of the data. These planned increases will be confirmed at a future fiscal event, subject to a NHS plan that meets the tests we have set out.This funding agreement does not extend to 2024-25, for which planned resource budgets for NHS England have not yet been confirmed.As the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care have set out, some of this funding will be paid for by the United Kingdom no longer having to send annual membership subscriptions to the European Union. The commitment the Government is making goes further and so we will all need to make a greater contribution through the tax system – in a fair and balanced way - because we can not pass on extra debt to the next generation.The Government will listen to views about how we do this and the Chancellor will set out the details in due course. 



Planned NHS England resource budgets
(Word Document, 20.89 KB)

Mental Health Services: Finance

lord bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what sanctions, if any, NHS England intend to apply to Clinical Commissioning Groups that fail to meet their Mental Health Investment Standard at the end of this financial year.

lord o'shaughnessy: Achievement of the Mental Health Investment Standard is a key part of the operational and financial planning assurance process for 2018/19. Any failure to achieve the standard will be reviewed as part of the overall assessment of clinical commissioning groups as part of the formal planning and in year reporting process. Any failures will be escalated via regional plan assurance routes to the Chief Financial Officer, Paul Baumann, and ultimately to the Chief Executive Officer, Simon Stevens.

Schools: Nurses

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment theyhave made of the benefit of the school nurse service provided in schools in England.

lord o'shaughnessy: No national assessment has been made of the benefits of the school nurse service.Since October 2015, local authorities have been responsible for the commissioning of 0-19 services, including the school nurse service, and are best placed to make choices about services for their community and assess outcomes.The benefits of school nursing services cannot be assessed nationally against the objectives of the healthy child programme as the locally agreed deliverables vary depending on local need.

Local Government: Laboratories

the countess of mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government which body is responsible for ensuring that local authority staff carrying out official controls to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules have access to an adequate laboratory capacity for testing.

lord o'shaughnessy: In the United Kingdom, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the body responsible for animal health and welfare rules. The Food Standards Agency is the responsible body for food and feed law. Both Government bodies are responsible for ensuring the staff carrying out official controls have access to adequate laboratory capacity.

Food: Safety

the countess of mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many food samples each local authority submitted to a Public Analyst in 2016–17; how many of those samples were part of (1) the Food Standards Agency’s nationally co-ordinated food sampling programme, and (2) the local authority’s own programme.

lord o'shaughnessy: A table showing the number of food samples each local authority submitted to a Public Analyst laboratory in 2016/17, as reported to the Food Standards Agency on the United Kingdom Food Surveillance System, is attached due to the size of the data. Of the 13,362 reported, 2,857 (21%) were part of a nationally coordinated sampling programme with the remaining 10,505 (79%) being part of local programmes. 



Food samples submitted to Public Analyst Labs
(Word Document, 28.85 KB)

Food: Safety

the countess of mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many audits of local authorities' food standards enforcement services the Food Standards Agency conducted in 2016 and 2017; how many have taken place in 2018 to date; and how many more are planned for 2018.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Food Standards Agency’s programme of audits of local authority food law enforcement services included the following number of audits of food standards enforcement in the years specified: 2016 – nine;2017 – nine; and2018 – two carried out to date and five planned by the end of 2018.

Social Services: Finance

lord warner: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to announce the funding available for adult social care spending in (1) 2019–20, and (2) 2020–21.

lord o'shaughnessy: 2019-20 falls within the current Spending Review period, announced in 2015. Over the course of the Spending Review, the Government has given councils access to up to £9.4 billion more dedicated funding Government for social care over the three years from 2017/18 to 2019/20. In 2019/20, approximately £1.835 billion is provided by the Improved Better Care Fund and access to approximately £1.8 billion is provided by the Adult Social Care Precept.Individual councils are responsible for setting their budgets and dedicating funding to specific services, and in doing this will assess what is required to meet the social care need of their local populations, and more widely to fulfil their statutory duties under the Care Act 2014.The funding settlement for years beyond 2019-20 is a matter to be confirmed at the next Spending Review, alongside the rest of the local government settlement, which will take place next year.

Department for Education

Schools: Finance

lord watson of invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many schools in England and Wales they estimate will have a cash terms reduction in their budget for 2018–19, compared to 2017–18.

lord agnew of oulton: Through the national funding formula (NFF) the government is giving every local authority in England more money for every pupil in every school in 2018-19 and 2019-20. The attached table illustrates how much each school is attracting under the NFF in 2018-19, 2019-20 and under the fully implemented NFF. The first tab provides information on how to look up the NFF for a specific school and the NFF data for all schools. The spreadsheet and NFF data is also available on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/644809/Impact_of_the_schools_NFF.xlsx. The Department has always been clear that local authorities remain responsible for determining schools’ final budget allocations in these years, in consultation with their schools. All local formulae must contain a Minimum Funding Guarantee (MFG) to limit the losses schools can see year on year. Local authorities have had the flexibility to set the MFG between -1.5% and +0.5% per pupil.The Department understands that many local authorities have decided that the right thing to do is to replicate the national funding formula locally, including setting the MFG to pass on the minimum 0.5% per pupil increase in full to their schools. We support and encourage this. A school’s overall budget may also decline if it has fewer pupils year on year.The Welsh Government is responsible for schools funding in Wales.



NFF_schools_allocation
(Excel SpreadSheet, 4.07 MB)

Special Educational Needs

lord watson of invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the 2014 reforms for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

lord agnew of oulton: Ofsted and Care Quality Commission inspections of the effectiveness of special educational needs and disability (SEND) services, which began in 2016 and will see all 152 local areas inspected by 2021, are providing evidence of progress. The most effective areas have strong strategic leadership, and we are beginning to see positive results on the ground in relation to joint working between education, health and care. For example, in Wiltshire’s inspection ‘senior leaders in the local area from education, health and social care are working together constructively to deliver and improve services for children and young people who have [SEND].’ In West Sussex ‘local area leaders have established strong and well-conceived joint commissioning arrangements. For example, the majority of health services that support children and young people who have SEND are commissioned jointly by the local authority and clinical commissioning groups who work within the local area.’We are particularly encouraged by local authorities and the clinical commissioning group being pro-active in working with partners, including families, to take forward learning from the inspections, particularly where inspectors have identified concerns with services.More than 98% of statements of special educational needs were reviewed by the 31 March 2018 deadline for introducing Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans. Moving across to EHC plans should enable those children, young people and their families to feel the benefit of the reforms and to receive a more joined-up approach to meeting their needs and improving their outcomes.A survey of over 13,000 parents and young people who received an EHC plan in 2015 found that 66% were satisfied with the EHC plan planning process. 73% agreed their EHC plan had led to the child getting the help they needed and 67% agreed their plan improved the child or young person’s experience of education.

Ministry of Justice

European Convention on Human Rights

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to leave the European Convention on Human Rights after Brexit.

lord keen of elie: The Government has no plans to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.

Terrorism

baroness uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) Muslim, and (2) non-Muslim women have been remanded or convicted under any terrorism legislation since 2010.

lord keen of elie: 28 women have been remanded or convicted under terrorism legislation since 2010. Of these, 27 were Muslim and 1 was non-Muslim.

Terrorism

baroness uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average length of sentence for (1) Muslim, and (2) non-Muslim women convicted under any terrorism legislation since 2010.

lord keen of elie: It is not possible to determine the average sentence length of a cohort that includes indeterminate sentences. The Home Office releases statistics quarterly on The Operation of Police Powers under the Terrorism Act 2000 and subsequent legislation. The most recent publication was released on 14 June 2018 and includes public statistics relating to sentence length of all offenders convicted under this Act since 2009-10 until 2017-18. These can be found using the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/716000/police-powers-terrorism-mar2018-hosb0918.pdf.

Prisoners: Females

baroness uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many incidents of self-harm occurred in the women's prison estate in the two most recent years for which information is available.

baroness uddin: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many times ambulances have been required to take women prisoners to hospital in the two most recent years for which information is available; and what support is provided to women prisoners after any return from hospital.

lord keen of elie: The Government publishes statistics on safety in custody quarterly, and updated detailed tables annually. The most recent tables were published on 26 April 2018 and cover the period to the end of December 2017. In 2017 there were 8,317 incidents of self-harm in the women’s prison estate. In 2016 there were 7,670 such incidents. The total number of times ambulances have been required to take women prisoners to hospital could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, the published figures reveal that there were 183 self-harm incidents that required hospital attendance in the women’s prison estate in 2017, and 138 such incidents in 2016. The support available to prisoners when they return from hospital depends on the cause of their injury or illness. Continuing medical treatment or observation is provided where necessary. The Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) case management process is used to provide support for prisoners who have self-harmed, and where the prisoner was subject to the ACCT process prior to the incident, there is a review by the multi-disciplinary team to identify any changes that need to be made to the support that is being provided. The Government takes very seriously its responsibility to keep prisoners safe, and the recent increase in the number of self-harm incidents shows that we can and must do more. We have established a prison safety programme through which we are taking forward a comprehensive set of actions to improve safety in custody, including: rolling out revised and improved training for staff in assessing and managing the risk of suicide and self-harm amongst prisoners (which has already reached more than 15,500 staff); improving support for prisoners in their early days in custody; revising the ACCT case management process for those identified as being at risk; and renewing our partnership with the Samaritans by confirming a further three years' grant funding for their valuable Listeners Scheme.

Ministry of Defence

Korea: Armed Conflict

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions have been held with the United States authorities about the repatriation of the remains of United States and British servicemen killed during the Korean War; what is their estimate of the number of UK servicemen whose remains are still in North Korea; and what proportion this is of the total number of UK servicemen killed in the conflict.

earl howe: On 12 June 2018 President Trump and Kim Jong Un signed the Sentosa agreement, which included a commitment to recovering Prisoners of War - Missing in Action remains, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified. The UNC Military Armistice Commission have informed the UNC Sending States that a repatriation event for the transfer of remains will shortly be announced. Some of the remains may be from Sending States other than the US. UK and US officials are in discussion about the handling of remains that are demonstrated to be other than US personnel.From 27 June 1950 to 27 July 1954, 1,129 UK Armed Forces died as a result of the Korean War[1]. An exercise is currently under way to cross reference records in the UK and the British Embassy in Seoul of those personnel with no known grave, to confirm the number of personnel whose remains might possibly be in North Korea. I will write to the noble Lord when this work is complete.[1] For deaths prior to 1984, Defence Statistics (Health) uses the AFM database and specifically the 'Theatre' field to identify all those personnel who died as a result of operations in a medal earning theatre

Military Decorations

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 21 June (HL8674), whether 5 star officers and retired Heads of Service who were listed on the active list but not in Regular Service after 29 July 2014 were not treated in the same fashion with regard to long service and good conduct medals.

earl howe: Long Service and Good Conduct Medals are struck for all Officers who were in Regular service on 29 July 2014, and who had served for 15 years from the date of attestation with good conduct.

Armed Forces: Officers

lord west of spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 21 June (HL8674), whetherhonorary 5 star officers are in Regular Service.

earl howe: There are no honorary five-star officers in Regular Service in the UK Armed Forces.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit: Travellers

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the rollout of Universal Credit on the Gypsyand Traveller communities, particularly in relation to the reliance on digital access.

baroness buscombe: We have not made an assessment. However, all Jobcentres across the country have free Wi-Fi, and there are more than 8,000 computers available to support customers who need help with making their claim digitally and applying for jobs online. This provides access to digital channels in every Jobcentre for claimants to use when they do not have access at home. There will always be people for whom engaging with us digitally is not a feasible proposition. As a result, a freephone telephone helpline and face to face support are also available for claimants to make and manage a Universal Credit claim. Where needed, the Work Coach will provide the claimant with a written note to remind them of the date of their next appointment, especially if the claimant has difficulty accessing or using online services. A home visit can also be arranged to support a claimant in making their initial claim and completing any other administrative tasks required to ensure the claimant receives the correct payment on time.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Forestry Commission

lord hodgson of astley abbotts: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to arrange for the publication of the minutes of the meetings of the Forestry Commission's Board of Commissioners held on (1) 16 June 2016, (2) 15 December 2016, (3) 28 September 2017, and (4) 14 December 2017; and whether they will place copies of such minutes in the library of the House.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Forestry Commission publishes minutes and papers of the meetings of the Board of Forestry Commissioners on its website. Therefore, copies of all meeting minutes, including the meetings held on 16 June 2016, 15 December 2016, 28 September 2017 and 14 December 2017 are in the public domain, subject to any redactions of ‘official sensitive’ information or ‘business sensitive’ information which would be likely to prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs, as laid out in the Freedom of Information Act.   There is no plan to place copies of minutes of the Board of Forestry Commissioners in the library of the House.

Forestry Commission

lord hodgson of astley abbotts: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to arrange for the publication of the minutes of all the meetings of the Forestry Commission's National Committee for England held since 1 September 2016; and whether they will place copies of such minutes in the library of the House.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Forestry Commission publishes minutes and papers of the meetings of the National Committee for England on its website. Therefore copies of all meeting minutes, including meetings since the 1 September 2016, are in the public domain, subject to any redactions of ‘official sensitive’ information or ‘business sensitive’ information which would be likely to prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs, as laid out in the Freedom of Information Act.   There is no plan to place copies of minutes of the National Committee for England in the library of the House.

Forestry Commission

lord hodgson of astley abbotts: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to arrange for the publication of copies of the 2006 Framework Agreements between the Forestry Commission and (1) Forest Holidays, and (2) the Camping and Caravanning Club; and whether they will place copies of such minutes in the library of the House.

lord gardiner of kimble: A copy of the 2006 Framework Agreement between the Forestry Commission and Forest Holidays has been placed in the library.

Forest Holidays

lord hodgson of astley abbotts: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the interest of the Forestry Commission in Forest Holidays Group Ltd as regards (1) percentage of voting rights and (2) percentage of share ownership; and what changes to these interests have occurred since September 2012.

lord gardiner of kimble: Forest Holidays is a Joint Venture established under the Regulatory Reform (Forestry) Order 2006. Under the 2006 Agreement between Forest Holidays and the Forestry Commission, the Commission retained a 49% stake in the Joint Venture.   A refinancing agreement was brokered in 2012 where the Forestry Commission interest in Forest Holidays represented 20% of the equity stake in the company.   A further refinancing of Forest Holidays took place in 2017, whereby the Forestry Commission retained its full equity interest as a 13.4% stake in the business.  The 20% voting rights that the Forestry Commission held in 2012 was linked to equity participation, and could be diluted down to a minimum of 10%. Voting rights that the Forestry Commission negotiated as part of the 2017 refinancing are fixed higher than equity share at 17.1% and are not subject to dilution. The 2017 voting rights also carry increased representation and greater access to information than before.

Home Office

Refugees: Homelessness

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of the research by the No Accommodation Network in its reportMind the Gap: HomelessnessAmongst Newly Recognised Refugees,published on 26 May, that the 28 days move on period leaves many newly recognised refugees homeless.

baroness williams of trafford: Asylum seekers who are recognised as refugees are eligible to apply for mainstream benefits and obtain assistance from their local authority with housing. A Biometric Residence Permit is provided to enable them to prove their entitlement to these benefits.As the report by the No Accommodation Network records, a number of changes have already been implemented, to help refugees obtain the assistance they need. These include the inclusion of a national insurance number with the Biometric Residence Permit and the establishment of the “Post Grant Appointment Service”, which provides advice and assistance and arranges an appointment for the person at their local job centre.Additionally, a number of “Asylum Support Liaison Officers” are being established across the country, with responsibility to help refugees access suitable accommodation.The report shows that, for a number of reasons, some people still experience delays in obtaining suitable housing and other benefits before the support they have been receiving from the Home Office comes to an end 28 days after they are granted refugee status. The report does not show that these problems will be resolved by extending the 28 days period.Home Office officials are discussing the reasons for the delays with the authors of the report and considering the findings and recommendations.

Undocumented Migrants: Private Rented Housing

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 6 June (HL Deb, cols 1303 and 1305), when the landlords consultative panel for the Right to Rent scheme will next meet; what plans they have to reconstitute the panel as a Right to Rent consultative panel including stakeholders concerned with the rights and interests of migrants as recommended by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration in his reportAn Inspection of the "Right to Rent" Scheme; and what will be the terms of reference for any such panel.

baroness williams of trafford: The existing Landlords Consultative Panel will be reconvened shortly. The panel will of course have an opportunity to discuss both the recommendations made by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration in his report on the right to rent scheme and the panel membership.

Visas

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their policy objectives for the Tier 1 investor visa scheme.

baroness williams of trafford: The Tier 1 (Investor) route is designed for high net worth individuals making a substantial financial investment into the UK.The Government keeps all immigration routes under review to ensure that they continue to deliver for the UK economy and society – and to ensure they serve the national interest.

Theft

lord ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment have they made of the factors preventing the police from solving more than five per cent of all burglary and robbery cases in England and Wales; and what steps they plan to take, if any, to improve the police's performance in this area.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government understands the impact that burglary and robbery have on the victims of these crimes.This is why we encourage all victims to report these crimes to the police, and we expect the police to take all such reports seriously and to investigate, to help to ensure that the offenders are brought to justice. How these crimes are investigated is a matter for chief constables, and it is for Police and Crime Commissioners to ensure that the police are responding to the crime priorities in their areas. The Government is satisfied that the police have the resources they need to do their important work.

Immigration Controls: London Airports

the duke of somerset: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for some of theautomated e-passport gates at London's airports not being available to incoming passengers.

baroness williams of trafford: ePassport gates are open to UK/EU/EEA and Swiss nationals, aged 12 and over as well as adult members of the Registered Traveller Service (RTS). ePassport gates are used by over 70% of those passengers eligible to use them.The ePassport Gates at London Airports operate flexibly dependant on demand, operating in banks of 5 and 10. Egate operation requires Border Force Staff deployed into monitoring roles such as behavioural detection to enhance security at the border and provide safeguarding assurances. The number open can be flexed dependent on passenger flow, if there is a large number of arriving passengers that are not eligible to use the e-Gates, a bank of e-gates could be closed, and those officers deployed to the main Passport Control Point to check non-eligible passengers.If the eGates were to be open even when no eligible passengers were arriving, this could worsen the passenger experience of those not eligible to use e-Gates as a result of Officers engaged in monitoring roles, when they could be better deployed processing passengers on the main Passport Control Point where Officers can use various techniques

Immigration Controls: London Airports

the duke of somerset: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to return the waiting time for passport controls at London's airports to the official target.

baroness williams of trafford: Border Force is committed to providing an excellent service and over 95% of all passengers seeking entry at Heathrow in 2018 have been dealt with within the service level agreements. But this must be balanced with Border Force’s responsibility to secure the border. It is worth noting that the 95% figure in the answer is in absolute passenger number terms rather than number of wait time measurements.Border Force is taking a number of steps to ensure passengers are dealt with quickly, including through investment in technology and maximising available staff at the busiest times of the day.

Entry Clearances: Overseas Students

lord watson of invergowrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Minister for Immigration on 15 June (HCWS768), what criteria were used to determine which countries were included in the expanded low-risk Tier 4 visa category for overseas students; and why India was not amongst them.

baroness williams of trafford: Careful consideration is given to which countries could be added to Appendix H of the Immigration Rules, taking into account objective analysis of a range of factors including the volume of students from a country and their Tier 4 immigration compliance risk.The list of countries in Appendix H will be regularly updated to reflect the fact that countries’ risk profiles change over time.

Airports: Immigration Controls

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the target waiting times for (1) British and other EEA passengers, and (2) other passengers, at border control in British airports; and what percentage of passengers have waited longer than the target time at (a) Heathrow, and (b) Gatwick, in the first five months of 2018 compared with the same months in 2017.

baroness williams of trafford: Border Force service standards are that 95% of British and other European Economic Area (EEA) passengers, from the point they join an immigration queue, are seen by an officer or arrive at an automatic passport gate within 25 minutes. For non-EEA passengers, the service standard is that 95% of passengers are seen by an officer within 45 minutes.We do not publish data on performance at individual ports. Published data on the clearance of passengers at the border can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/border-force-transparency-data-may-2018.Data relating to Border Force activity at Heathrow is published on the Heathrow Airport website at https://www.heathrow.com/company/company-news-and-information/performance/airport-operations/border-force

Airports: Immigration Controls

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the causes of long queues at border control in British airports; whatassessment they have made of the impact of those queues on the tourism industry; and what action they intend to take to alleviate such queues.

baroness williams of trafford: The number of visitors to the UK continues to grow, with record levels of visitors in 2017. We recognise the importance of the experience at the border for visitors and every effort is made to keep delays at the border to a minimum while always maintaining the security of the UK Border.Border Force is taking a number of steps to ensure passengers pass through the border as quickly as possible, including through investment in technology and increasing the availability of staff at the busiest times of the day.

Immigration: Appeals

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that fewer immigration decisions are taken to appeal.

baroness williams of trafford: UKVI are focused on improving quality of all decision making to ensure that we properly consider all the evidence provided and get decisions right the first time. That is why investment is being made via: a stronger assurance regime; better and more frequent training; and strengthening feedback loops. We are also working closely with HM Courts and Tribunal Service on Court Reform to improve the experience of those who exercise their statutory right of appeal.

Refugees

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure continued UK participation in EU refugee cooperation if the UKleaves the EU.

baroness williams of trafford: Until we leave the EU, the UK remains bound by EU asylum legislation, where we have opted in. We have already committed to seek an agreement under which unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the EU can join close family in the UK, and vice versa, where it is in their best interest when we leave the EU.We expect this to be part of a wider package of cooperation on asylum and migration with our European allies once the UK leaves the EU, and we are considering a full range of options to ensure that effective cooperation is enshrined in our future relationship. Any final agreement will be a matter for negotiations.Beyond legislative obligations, we nevertheless remain committed to cooperation with Europe, and globally, to address refugee and migration issues.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Customs

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what preparations they are making to ensure smooth passage of freight and cars between Dover and French channel ports in the event of a failure to reach an agreement on customs arrangements, as a result of leaving the customs union and the single market.

lord roberts of llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what preparations they are making to ensure smooth passage of freight and cars between Dublin and Holyhead in the event of a failure to reach an agreement on customs arrangements, as a result of leaving the customs union and the single market.

lord callanan: We want our future relationship with the EU to be a deep and special partnership. We are confident that this is very much in the interests of both sides, so we approach these negotiations anticipating success. The Government does not want or expect a no deal outcome and the agreement on an implementation period makes such an outcome less likely. However, a responsible Government should prepare for all potential outcomes. We have been engaging with border locations and the border industry to understand the operational impacts of any potential changes, especially at key locations like Dover, the Channel Tunnel and Holyhead, which handle large volumes of EU traffic.

Overseas Trade

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential effects on the wider supply chain if frictionless trade is not maintained after Brexit.

lord callanan: We want the broadest and deepest possible partnership, covering more sectors and co-operating more fully than any Free Trade Agreement anywhere in the world today. We want to have the greatest possible tariff- and barrier-free trade with our European neighbours, as well as to negotiate our own trade agreements around the world. The Government is undertaking a wide range of continuing analysis in support of our EU exit negotiations and preparations. This analysis helps define our future partnership with the EU, and informs our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks. Ministers have a specific responsibility, which Parliament has endorsed, not to release information that would reveal our negotiating position and so the Government will not provide an ongoing commentary on internal analytical work.

Brexit

baroness deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the progress of their preparations for a no deal Brexit.

lord callanan: As we continue to make progress in negotiations, we are increasingly confident that we will secure a deal with the EU and that the prospect of leaving negotiations with ‘no deal’ has receded significantly. However, as a responsible government we are preparing for all possible outcomes. Departments’ plans are well developed and are designed to respond to all scenarios, including the unlikely possibility that we leave the EU without a deal in place. Some delivery has already become evident, and more will become public over the coming weeks and months.

EU External Trade: Falkland Islands

lord inglewood: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the continuation after Brexit of the Falkland Islands' current tariff-free access to EU markets for meat and fish products.

lord callanan: The Government has always been clear that we are committed to engaging the Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories as we exit the EU, to ensure that their interests and priorities are properly taken into account. We are seeking a bold and ambitious economic partnership with the EU and want to have the greatest possible tariff- and barrier-free trade with our European neighbours, so that British companies, including Falkland Islands companies, have the maximum freedom to trade with and operate within European markets. DExEU Minister of State Robin Walker most recently met Hon. Teslyn Barkman, the Falklands Legislative Assembly Member leading on Exit issues, at the 4th Joint Ministerial Council Overseas Territories EU Negotiations held on the 14th of June. Through discussions in this forum, supported by official level contact, the Government understands the importance to the economic wellbeing of the Falklands Islands of their access to the EU market for fish and meat. We also welcome the substantive input we have received from the Falkland Islands’ Government as the UK prepares to exit the EU.

Brexit

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan torespond to concerns raised by businesses and manufacturers arising from a perceived lack of progress in the Brexit negotiations.

lord callanan: My ministerial colleagues and I, along with officials in my Department, continue to engage broadly across the economy to hear business’ priorities and issues, to reassure them on our vision for the future economic partnership with the EU, and discuss the opportunities presented by Brexit. We have made significant progress in the negotiations, including securing political agreement on the implementation period, something of great importance to many businesses and manufacturers. As the Prime Minister has said, shortly we will set out in detail the UK’s position on our future relationship in a White Paper. This will give detailed, ambitious and precise explanations of our position to business, so that they can continue to operate and invest with confidence.

Brexit

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will be able to finalise the agreement to withdraw from the EU by the October 2018 deadline; and what contingency plans they have in place to prepare for ascenario where they are unable to do so.

lord callanan: We have made good progress in negotiations and we remain firmly on track to reach agreement on the Withdrawal Agreement and Future Framework by October. In March we confirmed that we had reached agreement on the implementation period, on citizens’ rights and on the financial settlement. We recently published a joint statement setting out the further progress we have made in locking down the text on many separation issues and we have now reached agreement on the vast majority of the Withdrawal Agreement. Given this, agreeing a deal is increasingly likely. Nevertheless, as a responsible government we are preparing for all possible outcomes. Departments’ plans are well developed and are designed to respond to all scenarios, including the unlikely possibility that we leave the EU without a deal in place. Some delivery of these plans has already become evident, and more will become public over the coming weeks and months.

Regulation

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to maintain regulatory alignment with the EU after Brexit; and if so, what progress they have made towards achieving this.

lord callanan: The PM set out in her Mansion House speech the UK’s ambition for a future relationship with the EU that allows for a high level of reciprocal market access.For goods, the UK will need to make a strong commitment that its regulatory standards will remain as high as the EU’s. UK law may not necessarily be identical to EU law, but it should achieve the same outcomes. In some cases Parliament might choose to pass an identical law – businesses who export to the EU state it is strongly in their interest to have a single set of regulatory standards which means they can sell into the UK and EU markets.If the Parliament of the day decided not to achieve the same outcomes as EU law, it would be in the knowledge that there may be consequences for market access.There will need to be an independent mechanism to oversee these arrangements.

Department for International Trade

Trade Agreements

lord jones of cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made on new trade deals with (1) Brazil, (2) Russia, (3) India, (4) China, and (5) the United States; how many visits to those countries have been made since 23 June 2016 by ministers and officials of the Department for International Trade; and at what total cost.

baroness fairhead: The UK cannot negotiate new trade agreements whilst we are still Members of the European Union.However, the government has established working groups with a range of key trade partners, including the United States, China and India, to explore the best ways of progressing our trade and investment relationships. Individual announcements on the progress of working groups will continue to be made on Gov.uk.We are also using other instruments, such as Joint Trade Reviews and Joint Economic and Trade Committees (JETCOs) with countries including China, India and Brazil, to continue to deepen our respective trading relationships. We have already held JETCOs with India and Brazil this year, and will hold one with China later in the summer.Department for International Trade (DIT) Ministers have visited Brazil, India, China and the USA on 34 occasions since 23 June 2016. No DIT Ministers have visited Russia since this date. Details of expenditure for DIT Ministerial travel overseas is published on Gov.uk on a quarterly basis. All Ministerial journeys adhere to Cabinet Office rules on international travel and are published as part of the Department’s ministerial transparency returns (the most recent can be found at www.gov.uk/government/publications/dit-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel-january-to-march-2018).The total number of DIT officials that have visited the countries listed is not recorded centrally.